Potato sorter



1933- G. M. JENKINS 1,920,701

POTATO SORTER Filed Dec. 15 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l N g gwumboz E /175M-JENKINS 1933. G. M. JENKINS 1,920,701

POTATO SORTER Filed Dec. 15, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 G. M. JENKINS Aug. 1,1933.

POTATO SORTER 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 15

' Aug. 1, 1933. JENKINS 1,920,701

POTATO SORTER Filed Dec. 15, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 GEOJUE M JEN/(INS notsuitable forlfirst classseed stock or, first class of the entire cr p,arethrown around the grader and piledaroundin sacks in the way, andthese i l tatoes, and in this second operation the potatoes are pickedout which are of no value.

operati0nand keeping a lot of;second grade'pothe number onejpotatoes,properly, but which will Patented "Au 1, 1933 This invention appertainsto a novel device for facilitating the grading and sorting of p otatoesand hasfor its primary object the provisionof means-wherebya largeguantity of potatoes can be conveniently and quickly handled with the"employment of a amount of labor.

1 In the raising of acrop of potatoes there is always. a certainpercentage of this crop that has to be discarded as of novalue, andthere is another varying percentage of .potatoes whichare table stockbecause of some defect thatthey may 'have such as scab growth cracks,bruises, second, growthnetc" and these potatoes. must be sorted-outfromzthe number one potatoes and graded into a number,twoclassification. I I To mylmowledge, no potato grader, on -the marketto-day. will; perform more than the task of'pne operation, with-thepotatoesfiowingover the grader and men working over the sides of themachine, picking out those potatoes which are not suitable-for the"number one grade. ,lThis' means that all of those potatoes taken 'out',amounting to, in many instancesyflfty percent potatoes necessitate asecond handling. v Usual 1y cut-potatoes; bruised-potatoes, secondgrowth and cracked potatoes and all other defective p0 ta'toesare thenthrown out in onegroup and-then after the number; one potatoes have beengraded out, these throwouts, asthey arecalled are again run over; thegrader and made up into as good a grade as can-be made fromthisqu'alityrof po Handhng vthe potatoes;twice, asthey have waysbeenhandledin the past, has made double .work and expense besidesslowing up the grading tatoes on hand instead ofgetting theni'sackedandsortedimmediately, ready to beshipped ontfl It is therefore aprir neobjector myinventio n to provide a machine which will not only gradealso properlygrade and size. the number two potatoes, all in oneoperation, thereby avoiding a second handling. .7

In most northern states seed potatoes which are graded over'aninch andone-half mesh grad ing chain are packed by the growers, and then thepotatoes which will not grade nnm'ber one seedare' made into anumbe'rtwo, grade of table stock. Table stock is sized over an inch andseven-jeighths screen, ordinarily, sornetimsian,

I ro'r'a'ro soRTElt a nfieorge i flgAppucstion necemlwns, i930.sefiarNbf only make the twoggraqe but, t

ate 1 grading -beltliio proper g i ed fn h a m we hun e n mean i ch andone-half screena'sflzs a yr ma i ta sji qrget;. i th b l erin t qual isu h stock pack. ,u

ien; t P e ashm -w" i P erl s e the two gradesjonneed market conditions.

, A- further,'pri ne obje 3 i my invention is-to providea potato gradingand sorting rrnaghir le, i a l afthe ast r amen t es-amp screenfallowstoo t ihef i re nsw r; P iee i, 1

i th sa h pet w th a nverb ihe i fe r n the ote pes( m hop er to a sading'and sorting machine section, which-section is. provided with sideand intermediate grader e s he s de aderbl t ha reei in l potatoesinitially and' be'ingof 'the' ame mesh namely one andone-half inchesorfnumberg one stock the1pota'toes. beingdivided s the same are received'qm t e c 'nv'e b a gle he Sid grader belts, wheije the} number ,twograde of potatoes are picked out by men} standing; along ter'rnedisidesorting, roller belts for receiving the inurnbe ;onejg rade o;potatoesfrom Y the two side gradin'g'belts where these potatoes can be. furtherpicked over by men ,Sa nding along side of-I the machine being throwninto: an e ediate, grader belt which, receives the n me 'o .gra'de}potatoes from the intermediate Igraderl belt of, {the first sectionmeansbeirji' 1 sacking the ;potatoes ifrom hevsor'ting. roller belts,

v and meanslbeingfiiqvidedjfor leading' the secoi'id tingller"e1t"and=then grade potatoes over into the ;bagger.

A still further-.0

ec 0 .rny n venti on' is to device oifithe above character; which willbea sble v8 nd emcient in use, on that will." he v"sin'i-ple andieaisyvtio.mannfactine an h iplacednpon themarketjat' aireasonablevcostf V,withuthe'seiarid other ohJ'eQtf i 'ew, the .iri.- ventionj consists. inthe ,novel construction, ar range em, and information of parts, .as willbe hereinafter'n ore sneciflcaly ascribed} cl'aikn'ed; ,andiillustrated'in the accompanyihg'drawings in r ,whichdrawingsgr-rf i u elf s a Sideclevat si j fimv, t tmachine; v I {Fi ure 2 s a: r P Vi w F u e; is aiqneiwdi a es pr vided. fonrece'iving; and s provide an imroved potatosortlng andigrad ng ne whichcan be" j a. o

3 .thevp ked p tatoe 7 A further prim ob ecti'o'f "mymyenpi n stheproyision ofa pair of number 2 grade of potatoes.

Figure 9 is adetailsection through one of the.

first section of my machine embodying thehopper and elevating conveyor.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the second section of my, machineembodyingthe side number one grading belt and the intermediate number 2grading belt. I 1

'Figure 5 is a transverse section through the same taken on the line5-,5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is :a detail fragmentarykperspective view of the front end ofthe sectionnumbertwo ,of my device illustrating the means for deliveringv the potatoes initially to the side number one grading chain belts, andfor keeping the potatoes out of the intermediate number two gradingbelt;

Figure '7 is a longitudinal section through the second section of mydevice illustrating the arrangement thereof relative to the first. ,.andthird sections of my device. I I I Figure 8 is a top plan view of thethird section of my device illustrating the side sorting roller beltsandthe intermediate grading belt for the sorting roller belts taken ontheline 9'-9 of Figure 8 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure "10- is a detail section taken onthe line 10-10 of Figure 9looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the constructionand are rangeme'ntof one sorting roller belt.

Figure '11 is an end elevationofth'e third sectiori of my device.

'Figure 12 is a longitudinal section through the third section ofmyimproved device illustrating the arrangement thereof to the fourthsection of my device. 1 I

Figure 13 is a transverse section taken on the line 13--'13ofF,igu1-e12'lookingi1n the direction I of the arrows.

I Figure 14 is atop plan'view of the fourth section of myimproved'device'showing the ar 'rangement thereof relative to the thirdsection. I F igure 15' is a fragmentary longitudinal'sflec i tion takenon the line 15-15 of Figure 14. s

' Figure 16 is a fragmentary top plan view illustrating the type ofgrader chain belt used in my device, and

"Figure 1'] is a detailperspective view illustrating the type, ofgrading chain belt used in my device. I Referring 'to the drawings indetail, wherein similar reference characters designate corre;-'

sponding. parts throughout the several 'views, the letter- A generallyindicates my improved device,'which comprises'essentialiy four majorsections, which are generally indicated by the refe'rencecharacters-20,40,130, and 120, the first sec- I tion "being indicated by thereference; character 20; the" second sectlonby the reference character40, the third section by the reference character 80, andthefourthsection by the reference character 120."

The second section '40 embodies one of the salient parts of my inventionand the same includes a frame having upright supporting posts orstandardslfl, which can be braced and connected together in any desiredway, such as by transverse strips 42,'which connect the'standards 41togetherthat are in tran verse a ig ment. These transverse strips 42also support a floor or base board .43, which further tends to I bracetheframe. Thecorner posts 41 which ar in longitudinal alignment areconnected together by side plates vor boards 44, which incl ne dowwardly ftowar'dlthe frontbf' this section and these Sideboards supportthe transversely extending fiat potato table or platform 45, whichinclines downwardly toward thefront of this section at a relativelygreat angle, the lower edge of the potato catching table or" platformbeing provided with a bottom board 46, for a purpose, which will belater described. I I

Secured to the potato catching board or table 45 or secured in place inany other desired way,

"a potatoigrader chain belt 51 preferably of one and seven-eights inchmesh; These potato grading chain belts and 51 "can be of the usualcharacter] now used in ordinary potato-gradingi All of these belts aretrained over rollers 52' at their opposite ends, which rollers can be-ofa polygonalshape in cross section and-these rollers are keyed orotherwise secured to upper and lower transversely extending shafts 53and '54 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings carried by the sideboards or plates 44.- I

The forward ends of the intermediate plates or'boards 4'7 are bridged bya potato dividing member 53, whichv member extends "over the front endof the grading chainbelt 5 1.

It *isi to be noted that this potato dividing member 53 includesinclined side plates "54"; and a front- 1 upright plate 55, so thatpotatoes fed onto the potato dividing member 53' will act as 'means forguiding the potatoes onto the forward ends" of the side grading belts50,and to prevent any I of the potatoes from reaching the-intermediate 5grading belt '51. 1 I Y The section one of my device which-is generallyindicated by the reference character 20 constie tutes the means forelevating and feedingthe potatoes to the second section 40,and thiselevat-' b i-ng means comprises a frame including a paired? side boardsor plates 21, which inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the frontof the machine. These side plates or boards 21;a-re'secured to theupper'end of the front pair of corner '12 5 standards 41; whichstandards project above the side boards 44 of the second section 40. Theup-f per and lower ends of the side boards 21- of the first section20carries suitable bearings for rotatably supporting upper and lowershafts 22 and 13o 23'to which are secured rollers 24 and25frespecti-vely. Trained around these rollers 24sand 25 is the endlessconveyor belt 26, which-is prefer; fably of a flexible nature and whichcan be made of heavy canvas, rubber, or the hire, and thisend- 13'5less-conveyor belt is provided with spaced flights 4 The forward end ofthe first section JLZO sup ports a hopper 28, which can be secured tothe side boards 21 in any desired way. 'It'is'to'be v noted 'that thishopper includes side walls 29, a front :wall 30, anda-n inclined bottoinwall 31, which leads toward the conveyor belt.' This conveyor belt is ofa width corresponding "substan ti ylly to the width of theisecondsection 40,an d

the potatoes to be graded and sorted are dumped into the hopper 28 andthe conveyor belt .263 will ride through the hopper and efiectively.elevate and carry the potatoes to the, second section 40.

' The upper end of the first section extends over 0 the s d 45, wherethe same Willi (ill to the bottornthere the pbtatoes from wing? ontothecentral rew a irigheltSlarid'tcfthrow the potatoe's iontothsidei Theupper endsiof the side chain grader-tens;

board 43 supportsanybrefe'red tyne Thebase iifil ere he jk e sl iierwiee' .t etd a'fpair ofsprocket wheels 61 and 62,-thesprocket Vwfi,1'6 "has trained about the same a drive;

cl litlifigg which is "in turn trained over ajsfirocket wheel: 64 'lryedor otherwise Ysecur'ed to'thet'op shaft 53 r the s ec ondsecti'oni40i-KThis provides inean s' 'for' operating the three grader r'nouritedon a'uitable spririg messed st 'ib shaft an be m is ed e engaging. un" of te s prock'etchain 633d; Tas; to take I slack therein. I al'so ovidemean'sfjon' taking up slack; in

ate grader-chain 51 and this means maicornbrise a transverselyextendingfsh afft 66 having" keyed or'jother'wisesecured thereto aroller-67; which engages the lowerruns of all of the grading chainbelts, The endof the shaft 66 can be selectively 35" fitted any onef-ofialflplurality or-e emn' s-es formed m qependmg' supporting brackets orside bar'sffi'si' seciired to' the side plates 451. By thisrangernentfthe shaft 66 "andits rolle1 G'Tcanfbe' n 'is obvious; from:the 'de scription so far: that botat'oes'of a sh alle'if'size mm' memesn' of the grading pelt tall-"through the grading belt.

and drop ontdfthe collecting-table "or" platform of against the bottomboard 46. This collecting table is also inclined laterally toward one side of the machine; asclea rBFSho n in Figure 5 of the drawings, wh ich?mime substantially a trough v at the lower end'ofthe'section{10;and-this trough tvithf-a delivery spout 70 which a .b ev with im m:19?; receiving} e drive shaft 60 is a drive sprocket chain 'lli and this,chain is in turntrainedabbut a; sprocket wheel33 keyedo'rotherwiseseeured to the top sl 'raft'22'jof the first section 20. Thebottom shaft can be providedwithn ean's' 34 for per 'rnitt'ingltheadjusting thereof so-asto take up slack inthe conveyor belt-26l "The-topshaft :5 3 and the section 40' is provided with. asecond emcee wh h "moe m a er ,s

driving the third; section will now f described;

": T hethi'rd section comprises a trainee 81"6'05'.

sig ified somewhat similar to ni frame of 'the second section 40mmtheframe '8'l' embo'dies up- 'cimiinuseMnd 86 are of the same character,

, nels '85and 86 are "sorterbelts88 'and89 01' the; v same character andeach include a pair of spaced sbrocket chains QQ' haVing -upstandingpins-=91,

emnamner races-or the 'slde 'plates a's aridthe Q fn im m ve ww i i wbe, in the 33 l??? I an eleptric-motor'if'desired, andthedrive shaft"relative close proximity to-one' another so; that I none of the'potatoes'-1'a1ling"-onthe samewill' e grader riinstd and the,interm'edii and the cha'ririelt'ldjs arranged-between the said I side'channels' arid 86.1 v swi -iil I .11.

#These intermediate side plates Moan-be secured to the name ill-anydesired way;

" Arranged longitudinally within the side immiwhich are'fltted insocketsin tubular pipes er rollers" 92; which extend 'acrosssald'ichainsfwlf The ends of'these rollers or tubular :pipes"9. 2= tendbeyond the sides of the" sprocket chains-Q0 v and are received inendles'si channels 93, dormed' which are journaled"within the "sideplates- 83 andtheinterm'efdiateplates 84." It 'is'to be noted that therollers-92 m n fall: between the rollers. j V 1 Thebortiohs 6f theshafts 95"'a1"1d in the intermediate channel: 8 7 -h'as keyed otherwisesecured thereto upper and loweri'o'llefs 97 and 98, around whichistrained anendle'ss chain graderbelt :99, which belt is 'r tne samecharacter as theintermediate belt- 5 1of the second section 40,- namelyofaa oneyandseve'n e'ighthsinch-mesh, and 'it' is, to' be rioted byreferringi't'o Figures 2 and 12 that, theside sortr belt'sf 88 and89receive potatoes fromthe'side grader chain belts 50 of theSGCOIldgSGOtlOIlKO, while the intermediate grader chain belt"'99'!i6fthe "intermediate; grader chain; 'belt 51 ofithe Se'ctibh40.

I The sorter belts 88 and Mme; short-lot the forward end ofthe'frame,while the interv-l 1 Extending transversely of--the1 fra'me81 *and 5completely below the; gradel" belt 991' ls -awbni veyor belt 100,whieh"conveyor' belt is trained over end rollers 101,keyedjor-otherwiseisgcuredto end shafts, 102 and;"103,' whicharefimountedf in suitable bearings car riedjbydraine '10} bolted orotherwise' secured 'to theadjacent legs v 82 of the" frame-Bjlyand-thi's belt lspmvided with sui'ta'ble' flights 105 flositioiieddirectlyiatthe ends 1 of 'the-sort'er belts and *89 and slightly below lthe same so to recelve ithe' potatoes trom the 135 SOIteIbeItS-BSand'89." I

'The conveyor belt funotion'stdcarry the potatoes froi'n the sorterbelts i '88 and 89 to one side of the machine, where-'the samearereceived within a. chute 1 whichcan incline downwardly Thi's chute 106can carry any-'breferredjmeagns 107 "for' supporting :bags to receivethe potatoes and,' if*-preferredf I ran provide avpivoted guide plate108 for-directing the ne 0: potatoes mm 5 one bag or'anotherirrizwg t mArranged between the 1; intermediate boards {or plate's'84"is arranged-areceiving or catching table- 109 for theispotatoes which xmay. dropthrough the-grader belt $99Tand thiscatching I50 s. no

the third section so receivesg-thepotetoes trohi t tabledownwardlygmward. thefmn end of section 80 and is provid iwithvarbottornboard 110;, Ihis'; bottomgboard 110 inclines laterally towardone side of the machine and-terminates, in: a-"gu id e chute or, trough11 1; for 'leading the potatoestowardsuitable ba s or other receptaqleww :;I;n.,.orde to take,- upl slack the; grader belt 99, Loan provide anidler --roller;- 112 which canbetcarried byya transverse-shaft 113supported intermediateqplatetda o Theyshaftfifi' of-ythe third section80 can be provided with; a'sprocket wheel'115, which is in alignmentKeih, the sprocket wheel 72 of the shafts- 3 'of the-second section 40; A-suitable Sprocket"chain llfi istrained about these sprocket rwheels111-ar1d,"l2. "This provides the means for drivingithe side-sortenbelts 88and 89andthe intermediate, grader-belt 99.

@In order to provide means-for driving the nsversely exten n o ve o 0 Ia p videartransversely extending shaft 117, which canbe driven by asuitable sprocket 118, from the top shaft195-,-;,:One shaftl-OB of theconveyor belt 100 can be driven-from the shaftll'l by the use ofsuitable bevel. gears 1;19.-

The fourth section 120 .-is,mounted at the end of'the .;-third section'80and is so arranged-as to receive theflpotatoesfrom thegrader chainbelt 99-or the-said-third section 80.

'l- This fourth, section] 120' includes a frame havmg -uprights :orstandards 121,the upper endsof which 1 are bolted, ,or; otherwisesecured to longitudinallyzextending' sideplates 122- v The ends of? thesides-plates 122 rotatably support shafts l-23 land l-2 4 to whicharekeyed or otherwise secured pairs; of sprocket wheels .125. These pairsofispacedsprocket wheels 125 have trained over;

thesamesprocket chains 126 which carry the tubular; pipes; or :irollers127, which are of the samei-r character aslthetubular pipes or rollersof the sidesorter belts 88 or 89 of the third section. 8O;- This-forms:a-sorter belt in the fourth section-'=andz;the ends-of the tubularpipes or rollers L2,7;ar e received in endless channel ways 128:formed-on ,theinner faces of the side plates 1220i the,;said.-:fourthsection. I

The potatoes ;as they fall from this sorter belt of' thefourth "sectionarereceived-in a chute r 129 ried by the-*third section-80 directlyunder the upper endioftthegrader'belt 99 soas to insure the iproperizdirecting ofzthe potatoes from the grader I belt 99 ontothesorter belt .of-the fourth section. V 'rzf 'Theshaft 123; is.driven'fr0mthe-shaft 117 of the thirdsection80 through the medium of asuitable-sprocket chain 134.

-rfinaoperationxof-1my improved device, the po-.,

' tatoes are initially fed into the hopper 28 where the; same" aredelivered by the conveyor beltr-26 to 'thesecond se'ction 40, asheretofore described,

whereithe same are divided by, the division mem- -ber 53--.ontortheside-grader chain belts 50. Men.

work along the side of the 'secondsection 40 and "pickout potatoes inthe two outer channels, from -thief/grading chain belts 50, which arenot suitable for seed purposes; "or for .first class number,ohetableStock purposes'iandltoss these potatoes connected to thenotpiclrout all of the imperfect potatoes and they. find on theside rollersorter belts s1; s9 Vnot.,suitable for the first classwgrade are alsooverthe dividing or intermediate boards 47 onto, theintermediategradingchainfil. V V A l. o h P e Sfi belts then flow from the section40.ont0- the third section 8Q, the potatoes ilowing1rom the side gradingbelts 50 being. delivered to the sorting'belts 88 'and89, and theflowing from the intermediate grading belt 51 intermediate gradingbelt99, Naturally, themen working on the sides of the secondsection .40do thereforev men work on the opposite sides of the third section also,and any tossed by these men into the center 8'1 onfthe intermediatebelt99. these potatoes are properly sizedbythe inch and seven-eighthsmeshchain, it being second grade potatoes are graded both by theintermediate belts 51 and 99 and section 40 and the third 80. It is toalso noted that the first grade potatoes are ei-I pfectively graded,,while the same are being ha p-'- dled by side grading chains 50 of thesaid section40. The rubberized canvas, conveyor 100,0! third-sectionflqreceives all 01 thepotatoes eventually from the side-gradingrchain belts50o: the second section 40 and from the; sorting belts 88 and 89 of thethird section 89. This cross conveyor conveys the potatoes to side ofthe mach e to the sacks, as heretofore de,- s cribed. '1 V V The secondgrade potatoes in the center channel 87, traveling on the intermediategrader chain belt 9 9 of thethird section are carriedover the crossconveyor. 100 and poured onto the iourth' section onto the rollersupporting sorter belt of this section. There men work and pick offfrom' the rollers any z-potatoes which are too interior for a number twograde and after the potatoes have goneover, the rollers, into sectionfour, they drop into the potato sacks at the end of section. I a V VFrom the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided apotato grader which will, in a single operation, properly grade the onepotatoes and also properly grade the number two potatoes, and at thesame time permitting the inferior potatoes to be picked therefrom.

Changes in detailsmay be made without de-l parting from the. spirit orthe scope of this invention, but; 1 z

What I claim as new is':

1. In a potato gradingand sorting machine, a frame, side andintermediate endless grading belts extending longitudinally of theframe, the side belts being of the same mesh, means for initiallydelivering potatesto the side grading bolts, 35 said side grading beltsalso constituting pickirw tables, means for, receivingthefpotates fromthe side and intermediate belts comprising side roller picking andsorting belts and an intermediate grading, belt of the same mesh as thefirstintermediate grading belt, and guide members extend,-

ing from all; of the first grading beltsfor deliver.- ing-the potatoesfrom the side. grading belts to the roller supporting-and picking.rollerbeltsand the potatoes from the first intermediategrad ,belt to thesecond grading intermediates bel'a 2. In a potato grading and sortingmachine, a frame, side andintermediate endless grading belts extendinglongitudinally of the frame, the side belts being of the-same mesh,means for initially and intermediate belts comprising side rollerpickingand sorting belts and an intermediate grading belt of the samemesh as the first intermediate grading belt; guide members extendingfrom all of the first grading belts for delivering the potatoes from theside grading belts to the roller supporting and picking roller belts andthe potatoes from the first intermediate grading belt to the secondgrading intermediate belt, and an endless roller picking and sortingbelt for receiving the potatoes from the second intermediate gradingbelt. a I

3. In a potato grading and sorting machine, a frame, sideg-andintermediate endless grading belts extending longitudinally of theframe, the side belts being of the same mesh, means for initiallydelivering potatoes to the side grading belts, said side grading beltsalso constituting picking tables, me ans for receiving the potatoes fromthe side and intermediate belts comprising first intermediate gradingbelt, guide members extending from all of the first grading belts forsorting belt. a

delivering the potatoes from the side grading belts to the; roller'supporting andpicking roller 4. In a potato grading and sorting machine,a frame, side and intermediate endless grading beltsextendinglongitudinally of the frame, the

side belts being of the same mesh, means for initially deliveringpotatoes to the side grading belts comprising side roller picking andsorting belts and, an intermediate grading belt of the potato baggercarried by the last mentioned roller picking and sorting belt,and across endless con roller pickingand sorting tables, and a bagger forreceiving the potatoes from' said cross endless conveyor belt. a V, I

5; In a potato picking and sortingfmachine, a frame, side andintermediate grading belts ex,-

same mesh as the first intermediate-grading belt, I

veyor for receiving the potatoes from the side tending longitudinally ofthe frame, meansv for initially delivering potatoes to the side graderbelts, said side, grader belts being of the same mesh and alsoconstituting picking and sorting v tables, means for receivingthepotatoes from the grading belts including side endless roller pickingand sorting tables, and an endless grading belt of i the same meshas'the first intermediate grading belt, means for delivering thepotatoes from the side grading belts'to the rollerpicking and sortingbelts, means for delivering the potatoes from V the first intermediategrading belt to the second grading belt, an endless cross conveyorreceiving V the potatoes from the roller picking and sorting belts. v

. 3 GEORGE M. JENKINS.

